War

War is the single most major, dominant, and overarching theme in General Stanley McChrystal's book, "My Share of the Task: A Memoir". It is around war that McChrystal's life as a soldier develops, for he is trained to fight and learns to lead along the way. War presents itself in two ways in the memoir.

In the first way, war is presented as a means to change and grow. The sad and dismal aftereffects of involvement in Vietnam, coupled with the public's distaste for the military, and the humiliation following the failed rescue attempt on the Iranian-held American hostages, leads to the need for soul-searching and reflection in the military. The failures and instability in Iraq and Afghanistan prior to 2006 and 2007, leads the American military, and commanders like McChrystal, to adapt and transform and adapt for the better.

War also appears as a physical example of human failures...